Minimally invasive procedure may free Type 2 diabetics from insulin:
A small study suggests that a new procedure that treats part of the intestine just beyond the stomach may allow people with type 2 diabetes to safely stop taking insulin.
The procedure -- which resurfaces the duodenum -- was combined with a popular kind of diabetes medication called GLP-1 receptor agonists -- such as Victoza, Trulicity, Ozempic -- and counseling on lifestyle factors, such as nutrition and physical activity.
Six months after treatments began, three-quarters of participants taking insulin no longer needed it. The amount of fat stored in their livers dropped from 8% to less than 5%.
"The duodenum harbors a broad potential for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and this combination treatment could be a game-changing approach in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome," said lead researcher Dr. Suzanne Meiring, of Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
(Score: 3, Troll) by krishnoid on Wednesday October 14 2020, @10:01PM (14 children)
For Type 2 -- *not* Type 1 -- diabetes due to loss of insulin sensitivity, acupuncture can be (inexplicably) effective for some people. It's not a long-term treatment; something like once a week for three months, and you want go to someone with a long track record of good results (at least according to them) treating it.
It's also something you can try before trying the pharmaceutical of the month, considering it's not *that* expensive, at least relative to medical care in the US.
(Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Wednesday October 14 2020, @10:19PM (13 children)
can be (inexplicably) effective for some people.
for , Choose one:
- Accupuncture
- Homeopathy
- DMSO
- Hydroxychloroquine
- Colloidal Silver
- Any of a million other folk remedies
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday October 14 2020, @10:45PM (7 children)
None of my friends believe me either, so ... you have company.
At least some of those are "keep taking this once a week for the rest of your life". The acupuncturists I've talked to say that acupuncture by practice is a short-term treatment, and if you don't see benefits (in this case, via blood glucose monitor), then it won't help. Also, by that time they'll have a new pharmaceutical-of-the-quarter option to try, and people can come back on one of these forums and say "I tried acupuncture and it didn't help, so there."
I've seen drastic improvements that still stick around long after my acupuncturist retired, which I also find inexplicable because even Western medicine doesn't permanently *fix* a lot of things except for major bodily trauma (see: Type 2 diabetes).
I'm just saying, if you try it and win, shout hooray and take your chips to the counter. If not, cut your losses and go to one of the nice restaurants nearby. Either way, you'll have tried something that I daresay has better odds of measurably helping than a (fair) roulette wheel, with a comparable level of medical side effects.*
*As betting on a roulette wheel that meets Nevada Gaming Control Board regulatory standards.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 14 2020, @11:01PM (1 child)
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322662 [medicalnewstoday.com]
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20180917/lose-weight-reverse-type-2-diabetes-why-it-works [webmd.com]
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday October 15 2020, @02:09AM
That was covered in King of the Hill's season 13 first episode. +1 Informative.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 14 2020, @11:41PM (4 children)
M.D. I knew went to China and witnessed open heart surgery with nothing but suggestion and acupuncture for anesthesia - patient tolerated the procedure well and made a full recovery.
There are mind-body techniques that do not involve pharmaceuticals which can yield measurable effects, curative effects many times better and with less side effect than the most effective pharmaceuticals available.
The problem with the mind-body techniques is that they are an art/skill which is apparently more difficult to teach and administer, particularly to non-believers, than memorization of the selected specialty excerpts of the pharmacopoeia. They are not something that patients can even begin to self-administer, and therefore do not fit the Western outpatient healthcare model upon which the entire industry has become extremely financially dependent.
It's not just acupuncture and cognitive therapies that are maligned by the mainstream western medical establishment. Interventions like the ketogenic diet, with a multi-millennia track record of performance as effective as today's front line pharmaceuticals for epilepsy (about 1/3 experience significant seizure reduction-control), are still dismissed by M.D.s as woo-woo hand waving not worth trying or even mentioning before proceeding to brain surgery with high odds of horrible side effects.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday October 15 2020, @12:31AM (1 child)
Ok ... that's a little wild. My understanding is that acupuncture roughly breaks down into three categories -- analgesia/anesthesia, systemic body chemistry tweaks, and nerve/muscle inflammation. But whether you "believe" in it or not, it's probably established that trying other things before (not "instead") to see if you can minimize or avoid pharmaceuticals [medscape.com] and/or surgery is a good idea.
It just seems to make sense to try something else before introducing recently-developed, synthesized whole-system-altering substances and/or actually cutting into internal bodily structures, *as long as* modern medical diagnostics can close the loop at and show that your body is moving in the direction you want. If not, go for plan B, and then check the results on that too.
You know, test-driven development, like they're supposed to do for drugs when they're not rushing them to market through/around a probably overloaded FDA oversight process :-)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday October 16 2020, @03:30AM
Don't kid yourself: the FDA gives "permission to market" not oversight or approval.
I very much agree with the "close the loop" approach. Best if the body heals itself without heavy interventions of any kind, but do monitor progress and intervene if things are moving in the wrong direction. It's actually how the FDA regulation works - industry mostly self regulates, but if lots of complaints (deaths count as serious complaints) are reported then the FDA looks closer...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by DaTrueDave on Thursday October 15 2020, @01:10AM (1 child)
In my high school biology class, we watched a video of a lady having open brain surgery with nothing but acupuncture to block the pain. I remember thinking it was so cool that they could stimulate different parts of her brain and it would make her recall smells or colors or memories. Yes, she was fully conscious the entire time.
I couldn't do what she did. I can't stand hearing what the dentist is doing (drilling, cracking, etc...) even though I feel nothing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 15 2020, @02:12AM
Most brain surgeries are done under less than GA. The brain lacks nociceptor and is so delicate and the margins between healthy and unhealthy tissue so small, that they need to keep you talking and reacting to constantly assess how they are doing. Depending on where they are operating, they may not even sedate you. They do tend to give you some Propofol, Midazolamor, or similar to erase any unpleasant memories and trauma or keep you from getting fidgety.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 14 2020, @10:46PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 14 2020, @10:56PM
You are totally behind the times - your quack therapy is widely used for a few decades already!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_cleansing [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by sjames on Thursday October 15 2020, @01:03AM (2 children)
Unlike some of those, there is some evidence that acupuncture does something. IIRC in a study many years ago, subjects received either acupuncture for nearsightedness or sham needle pricks from medical students (sham and real treatment applied to their FEET!) while being observed in an fMRI. Those receiving real acupuncture showed heightened activity in their visual cortex during treatment.
Not exactly iron clad proof, but it's not nothing.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday October 15 2020, @10:52AM (1 child)
I didn't know it claimed to treat nearsightedness. I have no idea how it could, but this could be one of those things where the observations precede the hypothesis [schlockmercenary.com].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Thursday October 15 2020, @05:49PM
There's a lot of that in traditional medicine. The models and theories of it may be hopelessly antiquated and there may be a fair bit of placebo effect and wishful thinking, but at the same time there's a lot of repeated observations in it.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Dr Spin on Thursday October 15 2020, @09:39AM (1 child)
... that "type 2 diabetes" is three different diseases:
Also, some cases are caused by inulin resistance, others are caused by low insulin production, and still others by a combination of both.
Unfortunately, most medical treatment is heavily focussed on "fat shaming".
A bit of focussed research might yield useful results. In particular, removing which part of the gut was most significant in the second case.
In my case (not on insulin), the severity was reduced by switching to a ("Mediterranean") diet of 1 part fat/oil to two parts carbohydrate (by weight). My weight has not
changed significantly, and nor has my calorie intake. (Previous ("English, for diabetics") diet had more carbs, less fat, and no sugar).
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by pdfernhout on Friday October 16 2020, @03:36AM
On your point about weight loss: https://www.amazon.com/End-Diabetes-Live-Prevent-Reverse/dp/0062219987 [amazon.com]
"The New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Live and Super Immunity and one of the country’s leading experts on preventive medicine offers a scientifically proven, practical program to prevent and reverse [Type 2] diabetes -- without drugs [or surgery]."
Also maybe of interest on your point about bacteria and the gut and especially prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal transplants:
"10% Human: How Your Body's Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness "
https://www.amazon.com/10-Human-Microbes-Health-Happiness/dp/0062345990 [amazon.com]
On your third point, not sure what the causes/cures might be (if not misdiagnosed Type 1 diabetes).
The biggest challenge of the 21st century: the irony of technologies of abundance used by scarcity-minded people.